so this past week our team consisting of Nicola, Mike, Keith, Ela, Christo, Ashley, Liz, Joel, Flo, Woodsey, and Dianne went to sydney to work with the salvation army. it was quite the experience and wow, where do i begin with this past week?Ii guess I'll start with saturday, which is the day we left school to come to Sydney. I made some waffles and white sauce (hello amazing!) and we had german pancakes too. Then once we were all filled to the brim we set off for Sydney. When we arrived we set up our beds in our rooms. Funny story because they actually didn't have any beds for us a week or so before we arrived and so we prayed for a large donation of beds so that we would have something to sleep on for the week. and now down where we are sleeping are about 30 or so bases and mattresses. they are up to the rafters in beds from a hotel as well as other individuals so there is a running joke that we prayed too hard and got way too many beds. on sunday we went to church and then went to bondi beach and walked along the path that goes around the beaches. there was a sculpture show going on so we got to see some australian art. on monday we were scheduled to go to Brett's place and clean it out, but he didnt show. so we kinda did random jobs around the salvation army. on tuesday Flo and i went for a run in the morning and did a couple of other mornings too. we did a couple runs throughout the week including going around the opera house and botanical gardens and halfway across the harbor bridge (we are hoping to go all the way across tomorrow). then on wednesday we finally got into bretts flat and were able to clear out a lot of stuff. his story is that he's been on ice, a really powerful, cheap and addictive drug that's really taken off in sydney. one of the side effects is that he collects things. T.V's, umbrellas, dvd players, shoes, clothes, sleeping bags, jewllery, luggage, tables, hats, anything, he's got it at his place. His flat was so full of stuff that he was a street sleeper because there was no room for him to sleep. the back rooms were like going to the tip, you had to climb a mountain of stuff to get to the other end. when i stood at the very top i could easily touch the ceiling. so we ran stuff down the elevator to the rubbish bins. we had to get a rubbish truck to come and pick some of it up. it was a 5 tonne truck and we filled it to the top with about only 1/3 of his stuff. It was the most unbelievable thing i had ever experienced. but he was so apoligetic, and then so grateful once we had got a lot of it out. that took up most of the day. then in the evening flo and i went out with Ben to walk the streets of sydney to get a little background on street people and their way of life. it was a really rewarding 2 hours out there in kings cross (the worst part of sydney for prostitution). we saw brett again and he was going around telling everyone that we were the ones who cleaned out his flat for him. and he was telling people that we had spent 6,7,8 hours working with no breaks when it had really only been about 2.5 and we had a tea break at the end. but he was so excited about it and said that this had totally changed his life and he would never let it happen again. and one of his buddies was going to spend the night out on the street and it was a pretty cold night, so he told him he could stay at his place now that he has room. how great is that? so keep brett in your prayers. he needs it really bad. on thursday we did random jobs. I got to organise some shelves and work in the food market a little. it was really interesting to see what the people spent their money vouchers on. it wasnt generally the staples like veggies, pasta, rice or bread, but pop, chips, lollies, and biscuits. on friday we made some tuna bake and scones with Carmen to teach her some basic baking skills. in the evening we had friday night church and meal. it went really well and it was really good to make connections with people again. their church is really cool because they have dinner, then sing, then have care and share which is when they can come up to the front and share whats been going on in their week or things they've learned or just any random things, then they sing again and then they have a message and maybe a song again. heaps of singing. but they are so good to one another and are pretty much a family, a lot of them know each other and encourage one another through the hard times. we have a lot to learn from these guys. then today was our day off so we went to the cinemas to watch a movie and do a little shopping around pitt street. it was a relaxing day in sydney. now we are enjoying our last evening at the salvation army as a team. maybe have some icecream and lollies. sooo much food here, its ridiculous. anyway, flo is mocking how much i am writing so i will finish it up. talk to you all anytime if you want to email me or call me.
